THE SCOOP
Southside Church of Christ
800 Elmira Avenue Durham, NC 27707
info@sside.org | www.sside.org
919.688.3535
STAFF
OrlanderR.Thomas Senior Minister
WilliamA.Stephens Minister Emeritus
CandiceP Blount Church Administrator
QuentellaWilliams Executive Assistant
JohnMerriweather
Online Campus Minister
DineenMerriweather
Online Campus Director
DEACONS
JohnAlcox
AnthonyGreen,Sr.
ArthurHackney
JohnMathis
ChesterMayfield,Jr.
RogerMcDougal
JoeWilliams
By RICKI FULLER
The Apostle Paul declared in Galatians 2:20 that he lived victoriously due to his faith in Jesus Christ It reads thusly: “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me (AMP).”
Paul made that declarative statement even though he was previously considered as a staunch Judaic Pharisee He was emphatically dedicated to the laws and customs practiced by his people It seems Saul [Paul’s Hebrew name] was determined to please GOD through cleansing the area by defaming and killing Christ’s followers
While not as harrowing as was Paul’s former existence before being baptized into Christ, can
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ByRickiFuller
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you see areas in your life wherein you relied heavily on the things you learned in the world to guide your decisions and actions? That brings to mind the sin-fall of the Adams in the Garden of Eden It can be supposed that the primary problem by which both Adam and Eve were governed was simplyalackoffaithinTheGODWhohadcreatedthem!
In II Corinthians 5:7 Paul asserted, “…for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] (AMP).” The Adams did not exhibit that kind of belief Instead, they were seemingly beguiled by what they saw and what they heard as presented by the sly/cunning serpent Rather than believing or having faith in GOD’s prior instructions and warnings, they gave in to their own peripheral vision(s) They, both, greedily yet mistakenly peered outside the bounds GOD had set for them which resulted in them blatantly sinningagainstHisdirect/upfrontGuidance
Perhaps at that time the Adams’ loyalty was divided between GOD and the ‘world’ as pointed out to us in James 4:8. So, essentially, they purely committed spiritual adultery! Hence, like Adam and Eve and the New Testament Saul, there are times we all look sideways believing what we see (or have done before) as opposed to what The Lord Jesus Christ has taught and commissioned us to follow [Seemingly,Saul’sbasicproblemwaslackofloveforothers]
Each of us knows what Jesus would do in our world today because He Is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow! We are the changeable ones based on what’s occurring at any given time However, you/we can decide to follow the words found in Romans 15:13, allowing HolySpirit’s confident hope to overflow in you/us! In so doing, those around you/us will experience GOD, and desiretohaveHimastheirlovingGODalso
Beloved,gather/recruityourselftoChristsoHe’llstrengthenyouandothers!
Christhasyou,sowithLoveforGOD,yourselfandothers-beallin!
